I've got a CD holder doodad for the car and periodicially I swap around discs for it. Last night I put in a bunch I hadn't listened to in a while.
I tried to listen with some fresh ears mainly for production properties rather than evaluating the musical ideas necessarily.
Not knowing much of nuthin about sound engineering it's hard to articulate exactly what I heard other than that there's just a distinct thumbprint for each era of recording I listened to.
Fer instance, I gave a spin to Bonnie Raitt's "Luck of the Draw" which is a fine album musically. I just haven't ever LOVED the way it sounds. Some of the guitar tones are tasty but overall there's something that feels cold about the production. Most music recorded in the 80s hits me this way. I recall even feeling this way back in the 80s. Maybe it's the love affair with the chorus effect, I dunno.
The best example is ol' EC. I can't stand the stuff he did in the 80s. Of course, musically I think it's some of his weaker material but it also has a lot to do with the overall... feel? tone? spirit? of the recordings.
Then I gave a listen to Alanis Morisette's "Jagged Little Pill". The album just rocks. Her contrived singing mannerisms get old quickly and somebody should have had the good sense to take the harmonica from her but overall the album just has a vivid energy to it. The guitar sounds jump out and sound full and exciting. It's hard to articulate exactly why. I just think the CD's got some very good production.
One of my all-time favorite albums is CCR's "Cosmo's Factory". Man, you can practically smell the amps cooking. Fogerty's solos have always seemed like roller coasters to me - you think you're going to go flying off the tracks at any moment but somehow you make it through. The engineering on that album makes the whole thing crackle with electricity.
What's going on here? Fezz, GJ? What say thou?